Still Settling - OPEN

[Shaihulud]

Tell K'rios what?

The dragon's response of deception was not at all expected by Angela. Startled by Iktomith's deviousness, Angela turned up to K'rios, wide-eyed with shocking disbelief. Did he know? As silver eyes danced over the features of the pewter's face for any indication of suspicion on his behalf, the pewter himself continued.

He only wishes to be helpful, to answer your question, and as to the other, I have not a clue about it, though I can take a look.

Though relieved by Iktomith's assurance, she wondered what he meant by "taking a look". It was only when he returned to her mind that Angela realised what the dragon had done.

As far as I can tell, he hasn't spoken to anyone named Solai about you, but he might not be thinking about it actively right now. So if he has, I do apologize for not seeing it. Like I said before, he just wants to help because that's how he is - helpful. He wants ot make sure you're not well... upset over anything, I suppose? That you're fitting in just fine. That if there's anything you need, he knows whether or not he can help take care of it.

He had. He had actually rummaged through his rider's thoughts, likely leaving K'rios nonethewiser. Thank you... but... are you actually allowed to do that? Go through your rider's thoughts like that? To be fair, Angela knew several dragons she would never have put it passed, like her mother's dragon, Tsunath. Even as a child, Angela was well aware of how the temperamental gold liked to interfere with her rider. And then a second question dawned on her. He doesn't actually like my sister... does he? Mating flights were mating flights, but Angela was also old enough to know sometimes one thing led to another.

x7 - counted

[Ember]

Thank you... but... are you actually allowed to do that? Go through your rider's thoughts like that?

The pewter rumbled in response, finding her question somewhat humorous. She obviously didn't know him too well, or how he could be then. K'rios knew, but the girl didn't. He could have let her linger and been a little shit about it, allowed her to simmer and continue to question whether or not something was wrong with him. But the dragon decided he would be rather nice, and answered her with a little draconic-version of a chuckle. My rider will tell you that I do what I wish to at times. If it helps a situation, then I'll rustle through his mind to get to the bottom of a situation. In this case, it's helping you out. He would understand, even if he might not agree with my methods.

He doesn't actually like my sister... does he?

My rider does not have a mate. He likes having fun, as he puts it. But it is possible. He was quiet for a moment as he studied her, but he didn't delve into her mind. It wasn't his place to go, and he didn't have permission to push into a place where he didn't belong. You don't actually like my rider... do you?

[Shaihulud]

My rider will tell you that I do what I wish to at times. If it helps a situation, then I'll rustle through his mind to get to the bottom of a situation. In this case, it's helping you out. He would understand, even if he might not agree with my methods.

So he would not have approved. That was a resounding "no" if Angela ever heard it. While happy to know the man was willing to be of help regardless of her... feelings... Angela did not like the fact his dragon was so willing to pry. Some might consider it an affront, but Angela knew better than to go so far. A bond between rider and dragon was sacred. Stealing a peek into a rider's thoughts was hardly violating. Intrusive, yes, but never in violation.

My rider does not have a mate. He likes having fun, as he puts it. But it is possible.

So... no? Angela began to mull over the possibility of "yes", wondering exactly that it would be if it was true... but only for as long as a breath before Iktomith posed a question to her in turn.

You don't actually like my rider... do you?

Angela back from K'rios in a startle, causing her hybrids to protest at the retreat. You do NOT get to ask me that, Iktomith! she thought forcefully back to the devious dragon. It was not a thing for either of them to know, rider or dragon. But it was not K'rios who asked through his dragon, was it? Did he know Iktomith dared to ask such things? Or did he remain utterly ignorant of his dragon's interference? "I should go." She would have stumbled with her words had she said more. Why did this have to happen? Was it so bad that she merely wanted to take time from people?

Why did life always have to be so complicated?

"Sorry, it's not you." It was him, but not at all in the way he thought. "I just..." and once more words failed her. She left the pewterrider hanging as she attempted to collect herself and articulate the things she thought might ease the man's mind without violating her own confidence.

[Ember]

K'rios was utterly confused. He had known his dragon had spoken to her, but hadn't known what was said between them. He turned inward, tried to pry from the pewter what was said, but the dragon wasn't speaking to him, not at that moment. So he turned to the girl and stood. "What's the matter?" If something had been said of her, or him, or anything in between that he could fix, he wanted to be able to correct it. Unfortunately for him, this wasn't something that could easily be corrected, not in the way that he would be able to at least.

"Angela, if this is something that Iktomith has said, please don't take it to heart. He's a little shit, and he gets under even my skin. I'll speak to him, I promise." But he had a feeling she would leave anyway, and even as her superior, he had a feeling it would be best if he simply let her leave. There was a sudden feeling in the room that it would be better that way. He was frowning and pinched the bridge of his nose. Fucking dragon, messing shit up. "Come speak to me later, okay? I'll try and figure out what's going on, and if i can't, I don't want you thinking you can't speak to me in the future, okay?"

x1
[ claimed ]

[Shaihulud]

"What's the matter?"

Lips curled inward, her show of utter refusal to cooperate now with either rider or dragon. How could the pewter say such a thing to her? Whom she did or did not like was not his place to know.

"Angela, if this is something that Iktomith has said, please don't take it to heart. He's a little shit, and he gets under even my skin. I'll speak to him, I promise."

He had no idea... or did he? Silver eyes, made severe by her furrow, dared to regard the man. Was K'rios truly innocent? Or did he have his dragon ask? Sometimes the dragon could be grossly different from the rider, but other times they were one in the same. As the child of a weyr, Angela knew better than to assume K'rios was completely ignorant of what had transpired between herself and his pewter. Honestly, she knew not what to think of this possibility, which only made her stomach sink that much more.

"Come speak to me later, okay? I'll try and figure out what's going on, and if i can't, I don't want you thinking you can't speak to me in the future, okay?"

Did she have to?

Eyes averted his own to regard the couch cushions, the floor... anything really that was not K'rios. What would Emalia say if she were here? Angela pondered just long enough to find words not entirely her own, but truthful nonetheless. "I'm fine. Honestly." She dared to lift her eyes to him once more. "Iktomith just... startled me is all. He's a dragon, and he doesn't understand people like... well... me. But there's nothing going on..." Emalia would have been far more articulated than Angela, but that was fine. Angela knew she had managed to get her point across. "I just don't like people don't know." Was it truly a crime to be an introvert?

x1 - counted

[Ember]

"Iktomith just... startled me is all. He's a dragon, and he doesn't understand people like... well... me. But there's nothing going on... I just don't like people don't know."[/i]

Did that mean she didn't like him as a person? Or was this concerning the situation that she was involved in? He didn't rightly know, and he was frankly afraid to ask at the moment. If he did ask, would it seem like an intrusion on his part, especially after the push of his of his dragon, who had likely thrown her for a loop? Or would it reassure her and let her know he understood?

While he didn't want to bother her further, he felt he had to say something before he left her alone. "Listen, I don't know if its me that you don't like, or if its the rest of the candidates. But in the case of the latter, please know that I won't force you to interact with them if that's what's going on. I was genuinely trying to find ways to help you out of having to do so." Before Iktomith, who had ruined that.

Now he was stuck in a situation where he couldn't put up those building blocks of trust and he had no idea why, and the manipulative fuck wouldn't tell him why, and two or three days from now, he'd forget it all completely. "I assure you, that's all I wanted to work with you on, and to try and figure out. I wouldn't force you to do something you're not comfortable with, and I understand that interacting with people is difficult at the moment."

So if she wanted to still work on this, it was something he was willing to work with her on, but only if she decided she wanted to - in this case, as with the rest of it, there would be no pushing on his part, just gentleness.

[Shaihulud]

... don't know? What did I just say? It were as though two thoughts collided at once when she attempted to speak to K'rios, an amalgamation of "you know?" and "I don't know". Both thoughts melded together, creating a remark of utter confusion, which, in turn, worried and frustrated K'rios visibly.

"Listen, I don't know if its me that you don't like, or if its the rest of the candidates. But in the case of the latter, please know that I won't force you to interact with them if that's what's going on. I was genuinely trying to find ways to help you out of having to do so."

No! No! No! Shards! That was not at all what she meant. She did like him! That was the entire problem! Even as a young woman, Angela recognised the silliness of it all, a serious sort of silliness that girls like her and men like him were never supposed to indulge in. She liked K'rios! Only one other soul knew that she fancied the pewterrider, her own sister, the very one he had been with. But Angela could not state any of it. Shards, since Iktomith confirmed Solai never brought up Angela, and Angela never spoke of Solai, she doubted K'rios even knew they were sisters. It was not like they had that many physical similarities, all in part to the fact that they did not share the same father...

"I assure you, that's all I wanted to work with you on, and to try and figure out. I wouldn't force you to do something you're not comfortable with, and I understand that interacting with people is difficult at the moment."

A long silence fell on the young woman in thought, trying to find a way to speak without making matters worse. Even the hybrids kept their peace and traded glances between Angela and K'rios as the girl mulled over the right words. "I don't hate you, K'rios-" far from it, in fact, though she would go to the void long before she ever told him that little bit "-And... it really isn't you. It's me. I'm a difficult person without Emalia-" she paused and then clarified, just like her sister would have done "-my twin. She's better at words than I ever was, better at most things really." Emalia, the firstborn, the strongest born, the smartest born. During their childhood, Angela constantly found herself sick and vulnerable to things Emalia never succumb to. It seemed her sister had it easier in life in ways that left Angela sorely lacking, or at least that was how Angela saw it. "I just keep on thinking how if she were here, they would be easy for me to deal with. I'm an introvert, but she's great with people... and she always protected me from their... vapidity..." She caught herself. "Not you! I'm not calling you vapid, but a lot of people my age really don't have much on their mind aside from sex and popularity, two things I really could give a tail-fork about. But that's not your fault, K'rios. You did nothing wrong. It's just who I am, and I know myself well enough to... well... give myself some space from them."

[Ember]

"Not you! I'm not calling you vapid, but a lot of people my age really don't have much on their mind aside from sex and popularity, two things I really could give a tail-fork about. But that's not your fault, K'rios. You did nothing wrong. It's just who I am, and I know myself well enough to... well... give myself some space from them."

That was a reassurance at least, to know that she was aware of herself enough to do what she needed to for her own comfort. He thought about it a moment before nodding... and then grimacing inwardly when he realized just how much he had been pushing previously. He would have opened his mouth to say something about that, but he felt as if the situation that was flowing between them now was finally returning to a more clam and even keel, and he didn't want to disrupt that any.

"As long as I know you're going to be okay, then I won't have reason to fuss." He said, offering her a smile, hopng it would continue to bridge anything between them that had formed. They got along well together, and he didn't want to see that ruined because of a stupid mistake on his part. "But just keep in mind, for me if you could at least... if there's ever anything I can do for you, please let me know. I know it might not be easy to do, but I'll do my best to be of assistance to you."

[Shaihulud]

Would he accept her explanation? Honestly, Angela knew no other way of how to phrase her nature and how she felt on the matter of unfamiliar company. How else was she to define her introverted inclinations?

It was not until he spoke that she realised she had been holding her breath.

"As long as I know you're going to be okay, then I won't have reason to fuss."

She exhaled in relief and nodded her head in a show of thanks.

And then he smiled... It was contagious, and Angela could not help but allow a coy smile of her own to reveal itself. The glow in her dimpled cheeks brought out the silver light in her eyes. In that brief moment, she felt a rare connection with the man, one she hoped they might both be able to cultivate in the future. But before she might allow her mind to wander away with tempting thoughts of meaningful talks and bonding, the pewterrider spoke on.

"But just keep in mind, for me if you could at least... if there's ever anything I can do for you, please let me know. I know it might not be easy to do, but I'll do my best to be of assistance to you."

She gave Daphne a scratch of her cheek. The brief distraction helped the girl centre her thoughts. "I will," she promised him. Eyes turned back up to him, dancing with gentleness and hopefulness. "Are you sure your nose will be all right?" Though she already knew the answer, part of her still felt slightly awful about the incident. However, she was far more at ease than before.

[Ember]

If the situation were appropriate, he might tease. But he wouldn't do that to her, and so he simply smiled and nodded. "I promise you, no damage done. I've taken a lot worse and come out still standing on the other side." He moved to show her the fingers of his right hand, thankfully not the one he wrote with. "Smashed them in the forge one time when I wasn't paying attention. I was lucky," he started to bend them all with little difficulty. "That I came out of it still able to use them in the first place. So a toy bounced off this thing," He gave his nose a tap. "Is nothing to worry about."

It wasn't even the worst thing. There had been numerous scores, numerous injuries in the forge over the Turns, Faranth knew how many times smashed fingers had turned into nearly chopped off digits. But he'd wanted to assure her that he could handle whatever was thrown at him - Iktomith snorted - and a little toy wasn't going to damage him. "I should probably leave you be though. You don't need me clogging your personal time with stories, and besides, it won't be long before the others come clomping back through."